When did you stop being able to carry your child?

[JurasicPerks]

Carrying a screaming, thrashing child is obviously harder than a cooperative one, but roughly what age do you think you stopped being able to
a) pick up a tantruming child?
b) pick up a cooperative child?

For me, I could scoop up a tantruming 4 year old, but never really tested after that sort of age.

I can still hold my 10 year old - and he does come for cuddles that involve me having him on my hip.... From comments I've seen on other threads this is unusual?

Technically I can pick up DH 6'4 but a few inches off the ground.
DS is 3.5 and tall for his age, I carried him up the stairs a few days ago, just because we were larking around and at one point he wriggled and I suddenly realised he could very easily throw me off balance. I can't pick him up over my head to put him on my shoulders anymore. I also couldn't carry him long distances anymore especially if he's asleep. We live just under a mile uphill from the beach and many a time I've carried him back, I couldn't do that anymore.

Weirdly I tried picking up my 11 year old and found her heavy today, up until this point I have been able to.

I can happily carry DS who is 5 around the house and to bed if he falls sleep elsewhere, I can't carry him around a supermarket any more and definitely couldnt carry him home from town anymore (maybe piggyback?).

However if he's booting off about something I seem to get hulk like strength can carry him wherever I need to. Not sure how that works

Funnily enough my youngest, 10 asked me to pick him up in the swimming pool today and I struggled to lift him. I can give him a piggy back though.

My 11 year old is taller than me now, despite looking slim he's always been quite solid. I don't think I've been able to lift him properly since he was about 8

I still "babywear" dc4 and carry them around. Very tall too. I think my back is used to it.

I think 8 was the age it started to get difficult. Now my teenagers (16 and 13) can easily lift me up, but I can barely get them off the ground. Both are far taller than me as well. I can only carry the dog nowadays.😂

Once mine were walking independently they walked or got into the buggy. Still lots of cuddles and of.coirse I'd carry them upstairs if they fell asleep downstairs until about 3/4 and I lifted dd onto the potty until she was about 5 before I went to bed. However, I didn't carry them gratuitously once they were independent walkers.

I'm built like a linebacker so carried my DD til she was 7 when her legs were almost as long as mine lol

Shes never had a tantrum and when she has I just let her at it. Usually it happened at home anyway.

My children are 9 and 5, I can still pick them up if they’re cooperative e.g for a quick hug but wouldn’t be able to carry them far. I can barely shift the 5 year old when he’s asleep though, he’s like a bag of wet cement and scooping him from a bed seems much harder than lifting him from standing. I’m only 5ft though and the kids weigh approx half my body weight already.

I carried ds when he wouldn't move up, to about age 11 or 12 but only from him being in standing position with me behind him lifting him a few inches in the air. It would have done my back in moving him from the floor.

My 25 year old cousin the other week picked up my 12 year old cousin and put her on his shoulders, she already had my DD6 on her shoulders!

Some of you are so strong! My baby is still pre crawling but I carried my niece until she was about 7.

I can lift my DD now at age 8 nearly 9 she's 38kg but why would I want too it causes damage to your back🤣 a good strong hug has the same effect . I stopped routinely picking her up at about 3.5 - 4.

The last time

From the moment you hold your baby in your arms,
you will never be the same.
You might long for the person you were before,
When you have freedom and time,
And nothing in particular to worry about.

You will know tiredness like you never knew it before,
And days will run into days that are exactly the same,
Full of feedings and burping,
Nappy changes and crying,
Whining and fighting,
Naps or a lack of naps,
It might seem like a never-ending cycle.

But don’t forget …
There is a last time for everything.
There will come a time when you will feed
your baby for the very last time.
They will fall asleep on you after a long day
And it will be the last time you ever hold your sleeping child.

One day you will carry them on your hip then set them down,
And never pick them up that way again.
You will scrub their hair in the bath one night
And from that day on they will want to bathe alone.
They will hold your hand to cross the road,
Then never reach for it again.
They will creep into your room at midnight for cuddles,
And it will be the last night you ever wake to this.

One afternoon you will sing “the wheels on the bus”
and do all the actions,
Then never sing them that song again.
They will kiss you goodbye at the school gate,
The next day they will ask to walk to the gate alone.
You will read a final bedtime story and wipe your last dirty face.
They will run to you with arms raised for the very last time.

The thing is, you won’t even know it’s the last time
Until there are no more times.
And even then, it will take you a while to realize.

So while you are living in these times,
remember there are only so many of them
and when they are gone, you will yearn for just one more day of them.
For one last time.

-Author Unknown-

DS is 8 and not that much smaller than me. I'd have a hard time restraining him. I can still lift him.

DD is 5 and I can carrry her but not far.

I wore mine in a carrier or wrap till about age 3. I think the occasional toddler sitting on a hip stopped around age 4-6 with my DC. I can't imagine an older child needing or wanting to sit on a parents hip. I can just about carry my 12 year old at 5'4 but not for long, don't think I can lift the teen anymore.

11, 35kg. Cooperative injured.

Given a kid in meltdown a bear hug and raised feet from floor by an inch at age 12 or 13. Carried them last at age 10-11. (Y6) uncooperative

Actually, I think I lifted the 15 yr old an inch off the floor recently too.

Got the 11 year old off the floor, peeled fingers off the architrave, carried down three flights of stairs and across a garden by which time they

I once carried my two children and a bag of produce up two flights of stairs at the same time. They totalled about the same as the 11 year old injured child.

Used to carry a child in backpack and a pushchair up the stairs.

@AlecTrevelyan006 That's is lovely one last time, brought a tear to my eye as made me realise how I've had all my last times with my dd. And almost with my ds who is my youngest at almost 10. I no longer pick him up but tomorrow il be seeing if I can still pick him up and savour what will probably be my very last time. They grow up too fast.

DD1 is nearly 8. I can still carry her if she's uncooperative and tantrumming, but it's very tricky and won't be an option for much longer; not because of her weight but because the child is solid muscle. She can wrap her legs around my waist and do vertical sit ups, so picking her up and moving her when she doesn't want me too is very hard work. However, when happy she'll ask to be picked up for a cuddle, and she's still more than light enough to sit on my hip. I struggle to carry her on my shoulders now, but piggybacks are still easy.

I agree with different DCs weighing very differently despite being the same height and appearing a similar build. DD2 is 2 years younger and considerably shorter, but weighs a similar amount to DD1. When clothed, you wouldn't notice much difference in their build, but in swimwear etc and stood next to each other it is clear DD1 is very skinny and DD2 an average build. Plus DD2 is strong but nowhere near DD1's strength, so is much easier to pick up and carry if having a tantrum despite their near-equal weights.

DD is 5 a few I can't carry her to bed anymore

The last tantrum I can remember my dc having was at 4 when getting used to days at school, so I haven't tried since then.

But I definitely still pick up my 9 and 10 year olds! Both are not above a piggy back upstairs to bed when tired.

I can still transport my 7yo from my bedroom to hers but I'd struggle to get her upstairs now.

I could lift 9yo but not carry him.

I still carry 4yo a fair bit. She is disabled.

My 7 year old has additional needs and I have to pick her up regularly for her own safety. She is only 3 stone though. When my eldest was 4 I carried him in a toddler carrier on my back across London for the day - that was a workout and a half!